Pastor Jim Korzun accepted our call to become permanent pastor at Grace Lutheran Church on August 30, 2009, and began his service in our pulpit on October 11^th.

 Pastor Jim has over 14 years in the pulpit, with churches in New Jersey, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.  He has also served as chaplain at two children’s hospitals in the Atlanta area, and as Executive Director of a large non-profit emergency food and clothing center in Camden, New Jersey.  Most recently, Jim has been on leave from full-time call, and has been teaching high-school mathematics in the Villa Rica, GA area near Atlanta, and providing pulpit supply to several local churches.

 Pastor Jim’s grandparents emigrated from Russia during the revolution, and his mother changed from Russian Orthodoxy to Lutheranism in the 1950s.  Jim was baptized at age 2 in the Lutheran Church.  Jim grew up in New Jersey understanding a few words of Russian, and had an interest in science.  He first felt a call to ministry at age 19, studying science in college.  He switched his major to Classical Languages, and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Drew University, in Madison, NJ.  He then completed a Masters of Divinity at Harvard University.

Pastor Jim says that his favorite pastoral activities are preaching, singing the liturgy, and teaching the Bible.  He also enjoys preparing children’s sermons.  He says that he served a church near the New Jersey Shore that had a huge summertime worshiping community, but would shrink to a rather small congregation the rest of the year.  He is looking forward to our situation which is somewhat reversed. 

Pastor Jim has been caring for his elderly mother, who has recently moved to live near Jim’s brother in Virginia.  Pastor Jim’s son, Jimmy has started college near Atlanta.  Jimmy plans to spend summers and other visits with his dad in Gulf Shores.